Former Anambra State Governor and Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) presidential candidate Peter Obi has released his administration’s handover document in response to claims by the Anambra State Government that his tenure left behind loans and other financial liabilities.
The document was published on Wednesday by the Interim National Coordinator of the Obedient Movement, Dr Yinusa Tanko, amid an increasingly heated dispute over Anambra’s financial position when Obi left office.
The handover document is dated March 17, 2014 and contains a summary of the state’s financial position at the end of Obi’s tenure.
According to reports on the document, it shows a net positive balance of more than N86 billion.
Obi’s camp is presenting the document as evidence in support of his position that he did not leave Anambra with the financial liabilities being attributed to his administration.
Anambra Government’s opposing account
The document’s release comes after the Anambra State Government challenged Obi’s earlier claim that he left office without outstanding debts and other financial obligations.
The state government has maintained that it is still servicing loans obtained by previous administrations, including those associated with Obi and his successor, Willie Obiano.
The dispute has therefore shifted from competing political statements to a question of documentary evidence and how the state’s financial records should be interpreted.
Obi’s challenge
Obi had earlier challenged his critics to produce evidence contradicting his account of Anambra’s financial position when he left office.
His release of the handover document is intended to provide a contemporaneous record of the state’s financial position and strengthen his response to the allegations.
However, the existence of a positive cash or net balance in a handover document does not, by itself, settle every question surrounding outstanding loans, contractual commitments, contingent liabilities or other obligations.
The competing claims will therefore require examination of the underlying financial records, loan agreements, repayment schedules and the precise liabilities attributed to each administration.
For now, Obi’s handover document provides his side of the documentary record, while the Anambra Government continues to maintain that liabilities from previous administrations remain part of the state’s financial obligations.